Scion brand is no more

[Torn Mind]

Sorry, I consider reliability as the number one quality in a car. Toyota is the most reliable.
And I don't consider car and driver or usnews to be unbiased sources for info about cars.

Consumer Reports might be regarding Japanese makes vs others.

 

[smackababy]

It makes sense. I read Scion had the fewest repeat buyers of any brand (or was in the bottom). They sell babies first auto and once you leave your parents house and get a real job, you get a better car.

 

[marincounty]

Thirty five years ago you got that with a sub $8K Corolla.


Brian

That was a long time ago. I could get a slice of pizza for a buck too.
Let me explain what happened to your $8K Corolla. The U.S. automakers were getting killed by the Japanese in the 80's, so Reagan and company put tariffs on Japanese products, and decided to wreck the dollar so imports would be more expensive and American products would be cheaper for foreign markets. The yen was 245 per dollar in the early 80's, now it's about half that.
In response the japanese had to raise prices significantly and opened auto plants here in the states. With the garbage quality of American cars at the time, the Japanese realized they could cut corners and lower their quality and Americans would still buy their cars.
The American built Toyotas have the same parts suppliers as Ford and Chevy, in other words, junk.
I think the Tundra has more domestic content than a Ford or a Chevy. Made in Texas.
However, you can still buy a quality Toyota if you buy one made in japan. I believe all Lexus are still made in Japan, and a few other models also, I think the Highlander is 100% Japanese.
The days of cheap Japanese cars are over because of the weak dollar.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Wonder how much they will knock down the price to move the last of the cars. Wouldn't mind getting an FRS as a fun weekend car. Don't want to spend $27K though.

 

[MadScientist]

Wonder how much they will knock down the price to move the last of the cars. Wouldn't mind getting an FRS as a fun weekend car. Don't want to spend $27K though.

Neither did I, so I purchased a pre-owned certified 2013 FR-S from a Toyota/Scion dealer in 2/14 with 5K miles on it for $20K.
2014/2015's and it's twin the Subaru BRZ are selling for about that now. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=69

Scion has that Pure Pricing BS and most dealers won't budge on the price of a new one. The only difference between the 2013 and 2016 is a few cosmetic changes and the suspension was tweaked.

I'm glad to see that Toyota will still be manufacturing the FR-S. For how long is another question since sales numbers of the FR-S have dropped since its introduction in late 2012.

I've owned this car for 2 years now and it's been very reliable. Never been in the shop, only routine maintenance. I love the way it handles on the twisty back roads in the Smokey Mountains. My only complaint is that I don't drive it enough.
I did test drive the Miata back in 2013 and it was close. Fortunately for me, not for new owners, a used FR-S does not hold its value as well as a Miata.
Motortrend's comparison: http://www.motortrend.com/news/2013-mazda-mx-5-miata-club-scion-fr-s-comparison/

From their recent press release:
"Scion has consistently been the youngest brand in the auto industry with an average age of 36 years old. At 29, the tC sports coupe has the lowest-average age buyer in the industry. The most recent additions to the line-up, the iA sedan and iM 5-door hatchback, are bringing in new buyers with 70 percent being first-time new car purchasers. Additionally, more than 50 percent of iM and iA buyers are under 35 years old."

I don't know what the average age a FR-S owner is, but I'm a few years older than 36. The kids have been out of the house for awhile and I wanted something fun to drive.

Here's some recent pics of my FR-S. I did add a few of the cosmetic changes that were added to the 2015/2016 but mechanically it's still stock with the OEM fart can. It's loud enough for me. The 2017's will be rebadged with Toyota badges. I am frequently asked what brand of car this is (some people can't read). Most people don't believe me when I tell them it's a Scion. Actually it is a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru. A member of the Scion (ft86club) forum did some research on what parts of the FR-S/BRZ are made by who: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71898

 

[Brian Stirling]

Anecdotal evidence isn't useful. I have a 10 year old Matrix base model and panels are not falling off. I guess we cancel out.

Anecdotal? I owned it for 6.5 years and I didn't imagine the issues.


Brian

 

[Gerle]

Brian, no one is saying the issues you had with your car weren't real. Anecdotal may refer to that we don't know how many other cars had the same issues, one known issue out of thousands of cars doesn't tell us anything.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Anecdotal? I owned it for 6.5 years and I didn't imagine the issues.

In case you didn't know, it means your one instance of a car that sold thousands really doesn't mean much in terms extrapolating the reliability of the line of cars. So versus my sample size of one (for 10 years which is more than your 6.5 years), both don't really mean much.


But considering most publications consider the Matrix a reliable car, it's seems you have the outlier. It doesn't mean your issues aren't real but every mass produced car has individual units that don't match the rest of the cars.